Indiana State Sentinel

The Merry Heart.

'Tis well to have a merry heart,
However short we stay;
There's wisdom in a merry heart,
Whate'er the world may say!

Philosophy may knit its brow
And find out many a flaw,
But give me the philosophy
That's happy with a straw.

If life but brings us happiness,
It brings us, we are told,
What's hard to buy, though rich ones try,
With all their heaps of gold'

Then laugh away—let others cry
Whate'er they will of mirth;
Who laughs the most will truly boast
He's got the wealth of earth!

There's beauty in a merry laugh,
A moral beauty, too
It shows the heart's an honest heart
That's paid each man his due,
And lent a share of what's to spare
Despite of wisdom's fears,
And makes the cheek less sorrow speak,
The eye weep fewer tears.

The sun may shroud itself in cloud,
The tempest wrath begin;
It finds a spark to cheer the dark,
Its sunlight is within;
Then laugh away—let others cry
Whate'er they will of mirth;
Who laughs the most may truly boast
He's got the wealth of earth.